Spaceghostpurrp - The Truth (Internet, 2011)

Oh, Purrp. It’s been so long since I’ve written about you. Despite dropping one of my favorite projects this year (and last year), I really haven’t covered a lot of Purrp’s music post-Blackland. His career has been something of a rollercoaster, and lately he’s found himself to be the center of Twitter controversy. The funny thing is, Purrp’s message as of late has been more positive than it’s ever been - God of Black is almost certain to be his least cynical album yet from the episodes that have leaked. I’m not mad at that - Basedghostpurrp is every bit the rapper as the evil doppleganger found on Blackland. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been missing his more raunchy, audacious musical affairs though.

The Truth was one of the first tracks to leak after Blackland, and the reaction was a bit mixed. The fact that he was using almost the same flow as on Been Fweago threw some people off, and it didn’t seem too progressive after that lyrical ability displayed on My Enemie (sic). I was a bit judgemental of it at first too - the beat was one of the hardest he’s done to date, but the rapping wasn’t connecting and the lack of a second verse disappointed me.

But I revisted the Truth later on, after a tough summer, and that shit just socked me right in the jaw (ayo). It made me realize what I’ve always been so drawn to about Purrp, and it’s the completely isolationist vibes that he carries in his music. Purrp is an extremely young man, and for him to have such harsh, pessimistic views on love and the world is a bit frightening. Feelings that, unlike his peers, aren’t merely empty insults and misdirected misogyny, but weathered views of a brilliantly bitter young man. While it’s not completely excusable, it is ridiculously understandable when you know where he’s coming from. 

Purrp does this raunchy sex talk and harsh cynicism better than most rappers right now, and it’s because he immerses himself in his beliefs instead of shouting M.O.B. carelessly to seem ”rebellious.” There’s a genuine honesty in The Truth (no pun intended), and that’s what makes this easily one of the highlights in his young discography. I would say that I hope he doesn’t completely abandon this side of him, but I realize that he’s grown as an artist considerably from the time this was released. 

Spaceghostpurrp - My Enemie (NASA Records, 2011)

While we all continue to bask in the dark glory of Blvcklvnd Rvdix, Purrp quietly drops the first track from his next project, Blvck Mvrdxc. #Really

My Enemie (sic) features the best pure rapping Purrp’s done yet, proving that there’s more to his repoitoire than previously thought. As an ever evolving 20 year old rapper and producer, Purrp shares some great company with other rappers of his age range, but with little more than a low-quality audio recorder and a box full of Playa Fly tapes, Purrp is perhaps the most promising of them all.

DJ Khaled (feat. a bunch of irrelevant rappers) - Welcome To My Hood (remix of the remix of the remix) (Def Jam, 2011)

It’s telling that of all the rappers (and dancehall singers?) present, the only ones who still provide some sort of influence to the game are Birdman and Waka Flocka. Not to say that Jada or Twista aren’t the best rappers here - they are - but neither of them have really offered more than a competent guest verse here and there over the past three or four years (and that’s being generous). The instrumental is a re-hash of every DJ Khaled “anthem” since We Takin’ Over, and the cast of one-time all-stars just tend to embarrass themselves with triple-time flows that remind me of Eminem’s verse on Forever - meaning, “I’m rapping fast so I automatically reserve the right to have the best verse.”

Khaled raps, his bars obviously penned by Rozay, and it’s the most entertaining part of the video until Waka appears. Waka’s verse serves as an all-too-late burst of energy; like a defibrillator charge to a victim who could’ve been saved seconds earlier. Waka’s placement here is in vein to a small child visiting their grandfather at the retirement home; putting a spirit full of youth and vigor into an environment where everyone is just waiting for their career to pass-over to the next life.

Also, please stick to making terrible movies, Luda. I think we’ve all been giving you that advice for the past five years.